In June we went on a vacation to the Smokey Mountains. I had promised myself a real vacation this year which involves going somewhere that I had not been yet and did not involve visiting family. This vacation fit that request perfectly and we had a great time in this wonderful part of the country where I had not been to before. We walked in the woods including a short part of the Appalachian trail, threw rocks in the river, even tubed down it, hopped on a train and in general relaxed in the great cabin that we had found in Bryson City, North Carolina. The second day there was hiking day as we hiked to the top of the Smokey Mountains National Park. From there you had a great view of miles and miles of green forest all directions. 

This is a United States National Park at the border of Tennessee and North Carolina and covers the southern part of the Appalachian Mountains.  It is driving distance from Knoxville and Atlanta and some other larger cities, and therefore one of the most visited national parks.  It is a beautiful, forested area with tons of outdoors and hiking opportunities.  The Appalachian Trail runs through this park and we were able to walk a short part of this.